All about Food

Ingredients:
• Boiled eggs 6 nos. 8 minutes boiled and peeled, cut in halves. • Red onion 3 nos medium size finely sliced• Tomatoes 3 nos medium size chopped• Fennel seeds 1 tsp• Green chilly 3 nos slotted• Cinnamon 2″ length• Ginger 1″ length finely chopped• Bay leaves 2 nos• Turmeric powder 1/3 tsp• Kashmir chilli powder 1 tsp• Red chilli powder 1 tsp• Garam masala 1/2 tsp• Rock salt as required• Curry leaves 2 sprigs• Coriander leaves chopped 1 tbsp• Coconut oil 3 tbsp
Heat a wok over medium flame. Pour in 2 tablespoonful of oil and allow to get hot. Once oil is hot, add bay leaves, cinnamon, fennel seeds and saute. Once fennel seeds start crackling, add onion, green chilly, ginger and stir well. Keep sauteing till onion turns translucent and raw aroma of ginger fade away. Add required salt, chopped tomato and curry leaves and stir well and saute for about 3 minutes till tomato turn mushy. Add now chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala. Give a good mix, cover the wok and cook for about 10 minutes under low flame. Once oil starts floating from wok sides, check for salt and if required add half a cup of water and cook for another 5 minutes. Add now boiled eggs. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 

Happy cooking!

Ingredients required:
• Moringa leaves* 4 cups• Grated coconut 1 cup• Shallots 1/2 cup• Garlic 4 cloves• Green chili 5 nos• Cumin seeds 1 tsp• Mustard seeds 1tsp• Urid dal(Blackgram de skined)1 tsp• Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp• Kosher salt as required• Curry leaves 1 sprig• Dry red chillies 2 nos• Coconut oil 2 tbsp

* Pluck out the leaves. Remove all stems and veins. Look out for any insects or any other foreign particles. Soak it in Turmeric and Salt solution for about an hour. Rinse in running water for atleast 3 times. Drain it and let it dry. 
Heat a pan over medium flame. Pour oil and once oil is hot, add mustard seeds, Urid dal, Dried chilles and curry leaves. Once mustard seeds start crackling, add moringa leaves. Add turmeric powder, required salt and mix well. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes. 
Meantime,using a mortar and pestle, crush grated coconut along with green chillies, garlic, cumin seeds and shallots. Pound it till it’s well combined and crushed properly. 
Keep stirring moringa leaves and once it’s half cooked, add the grounded paste and mix well. Check for salt. Cover the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. 
Happy Cooking! 

One of the popular Chettinad cuisine originated from the region of Chettinad, in Tamilnadu State. Usage of fresh herbs and spices makes it very unique. 
Ingredients:
• Chicken curry cut 500 gms• Fennel seeds 1 tsp• Cumin seeds 1 tsp• Black pepper 1 tsp• Kalonji seeds (Nigella seeds) 1/2 tsp• Red dry chillies 2 nos• Coriander seeds 1tsp• Shallots 8 nos sliced• Ginger paste 1 tsp• Garlic paste 1 tsp• Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp• Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp• Curry leaves 2 sprigs• Mint leaves 1 sprig• Sesame oil 2 tbsps• Kosher salt to taste• Coriander leaves for garnish
Heat a pan over low flame. Dry roast fennel seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, kalonji seeds, red chillies and coriander seeds. Roast till it release aroma. Once it’s cooled, grind it to fine powder. 
Heat a wok over medium flame. Pour oil and once oil is hot, add sliced shallots, curry leaves and saute till it turns mushy. Add now garlic paste,ginger paste and saute til its raw smell goes. Add turmeric powder, grounded spice powder and mix well and saute for about 2 minutes. Add in the chicken, required salt, mint leaves and combine well. Pour half cup of water,stir well, cover the wok and cook for about 15 minutes. Add now the garam masala powder, coriander leaves and combine well. Ensure the water content is completely evaporated as this dish is bit dry and it’s purely individual choice to have it made with sauce. 
Ideal to have with Nan, Roti or steamed rice. 
Happy cooking! 

An ideal accompaniment for Idly, Dosa or even with rice. 
Ingredients:
• Morniga leaves* 2 cups• Grated coconut 1 cup• Shallots 6 nos• Garlic 4 nos• Dried Red chillies 5 nos• Urid dal(split & skinned Blackgram) 1tbsp• Fried gram dal(Roasted gram) 1 tbsp• White Sesame seeds 1 tsp• Tamarind 1/2 lemon size• Mustard seeds 1 tsp• Curry leaves 2 sprigs• Coconut oil /Sesame oil 11/2 tbsp• Rock salt to taste
* Select tender moringa leaves, check for any insects or any other foreign particles. Wash it thoroughly, rinse under running water and allow to drain completely. Spread it on a paper towel or a baking sheet and air it out. Suggested 2 cups of moringa leaves are prior to washing it. 
Heat a pan over low flame. Once the pan is hot, pour 1/2 tbsp of oil and when it’s hot, add Urid dal,fried gram dal, dry chillies and saute for a minute. Add garlic, shallots, sesame seeds, tamarind and saute for another 2 minutes. Now add grated coconut and moringa leaves and saute for 3 minutes. Put off the flame. Allow the roasted ingredients to cool. Transfer the roasted ingredients to a grinding jar, add required salt and grind it to a coarse consistency. Do not use more water while grinding. Let the chutney be in semi liquid consistency.
Now time for tempering. Heat a pan over medium flame. Pour oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. Wait for it to sputter. Add dry red chillies, curry leaves and when it’s fried, put off the flame, pour the tempering to chutney. Mix well
Happy Cooking! 

A middle Eastern dish prepared out of Fava Beans, which is high source of fibres, proteins and iron. 
Ingredients required:
• Fava beans* 2 cups• Tomato • Onion 1 medium size finely chopped• Spring onion• Lime Juice• Olive oil• Green chili• Garlic• Kosher salt as required• Cumin powder• White pepper powder• Fresh Parsley
* Soak fava beans overnight. 
Cook fava beans and mash it using a potato masher leaving few full beans. 
Heat a skillet over medium flame. Pour in olive oil. Once oil is hot, add chopped onions and saute till is translucent. Add Crushed garlic and cumin powder and saute till its fragrant. Now add the mashed fava beans and add  cup of water and allow to simmer. Add seasoning – salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes until it’s semi smooth consistency. Add crushed green chilly lemon juice and a generous drizzle of olive oil and combine well. Top Foul Mudammas with fresh parsley, diced tomato, diced cucumber and spring onion and sliced green chilly. You may also add pitted olives as garnish. Serve it along with pita bread, Kuboos. 
Happy Cooking! 

An Indo- Chinese recipe, which can be prepared at ease. The star component of this delicious dish is Schezwan sauce. The sauce is normally spicy, but you could plan your spice requirement if sauce is prepared by you. 
Ingredients required:
• Schezwan sauce 2 tbsp• Cooked long grain rice* 3 cups• Shredded chicken 2 cups• Finely chopped ginger 1/2 tsp• Finely chopped garlic 1/2 tsp• Spring onion 2 stalks chopped• Red onion 1 medium size chopped• French beans  chopped 2 tbsp• Carrots chopped 2 tbsp• Green chilly chopped 1/2 tsp• Black pepper powder 1/2 tsp• Soy sauce 1 tsp• Vinegar 1/2 tsp• Salt as required• Cooking oil 1tbsp
* Previous day cooked rice which was refrigerated would be ideal. 
Heat a wok over medium flame. Pour oil and once oil is hot, add ginger, garlic, green chilly and saute till it’s raw aroma is gone. Add onion, and shredded chicken and saute for about 5 minutes. Add now chopped carrots and french beans and saute for a minute or two. Add soy sauce, pepper powder, vinegar, salt. Give it a good toss and combine well. Now increase the flame to high. Add the rice and schezwan sauce. Mix well so that the sauce is combined well with rice and vegetables. Off the flame and add chopped spring onion and give it a good stir. 
Happy cooking! 

Ingredients required:
• Chicken breast cut in 1″ Cubes 500 gms• Coconut Milk 2 cups• Palm Sugar 1 tsp• Fish Sauce 1 tsp• Salt to taste• kaffir lime leaves 2 nos• Cooking oil 2 tbsp• French beans 4 nos cut in length• Carrot 1 medium size cut in dice• Red Bell pepper 1small size cut in dice. • Spring onion 2 nos cut in length• Thai Red chillies 2 nos for garnish
For preparing Green Curry paste 
• Coriander seeds 1 tsp• Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp• Peppercorn 1/2 tsp• Thai green chillies  5 nos• Lemongrass 1 stalk chopped• Galangal 1″ length chopped• Kaffir lime leaves 4 nos• Thai Basil leaves 6 nos• Shallots 6 nos sliced• Lime zest • Garlic 5 cloves• Coriander roots 6 nos
Grind above ingredients to a fine paste. Do not add water. Should you require, to have little liquid to get it grind perfectly, you may add few spoonful of coconut milk to get it grounded fine. 
Heat a pan over medium flame. Once the pan is hot, pour in oil and wait for it to get hot. Now increase the flame to high and add washed and drained chicken. Do not stir the chicken at this moment. Let it get cooked for about 2 minutes. Once it’s seared on bottom side, turn on the other side and let it cook. Now pour in half quantity of coconut milk and stir. Let it start simmering. Now add the Curry paste and combine well. Add required salt, fish sauce, palm sugar. Add the vegetables, pour in rest of coconut milk, combine well, cover it and cook for about 10 minutes. 
Garnish with kaffir lime leaves and red chillies cut in diagonal. Serve hot along with Steamed rice. 

Happy cooking!

An ideal condiment which suppliment with any Indian food or at any meals. Truly yummy, yet very simple to make. 
Ingredients required:
• Vadvani or Bhavanagari chilli or even sweet pepper*(commonly used for preparing bhaji can be used) 12 nos• Besan flour(Chickpea flour) 1/2 cup• Turmeric powder 1/3 tsp• Roasted Cumin powder 1 tsp• Roasted Ajwain (caraway) 1/2 ts• Lemon juice 1/2 tbsp• White sesame seeds 1/2 tbsp• Sugar 1tsp• Rock salt to taste • Roasted peanut 1 tbsp – crush it• Ginger paste 1/2 tsp• Garlic paste 1/2 tsp• Amchur(Mango powder) 1/2 tsp• Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp• Sesame oil 3 tbsp
Wash and pat dry the chillies. Make a slit right 1/4 ” below the calyx to 1/4″ above apex area. ( 1/4″ Below the head to 1/4″ above tip) If you prefer to have less spicy, scoop out the seeds. By doing so, there will be better cavity to fill the stuffing. 
Heat a pan over medium flame. Once the pan is hot, Pour 2 tbsp of oil and then add ginger and garlic paste. Saute till it’s raw aroma is gone. Then add red chilli powder and Chickpea flour. Keep stirring. Add now the rest of ingredients – Turmeric powder, cumin, ajwain, lemon juice, sesame seeds, sugar, roasted peanut, mango powder and combine well. Add salt to taste. Saute for about 3 minutes. Should you require little water to mix, add required quantity of water to combine it to  thick consistency. 
Switch off flame and allow the mixture to cool. Once it’s cold, stuff all chillies. If there is any left over stuffing mixture, keep it aside for later usage. 
Heat a pan on low flame. Once the pan is hot, pour in the oil and wait for the oil to be hot. Once it’s, start arranging the stuffed chillies in pan. Do not over crowd. Allow the chillies to get seared from down ( cook for about 3 minutes) and then flip over the other side and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Ensure all sides of chillies are cooked. Now just sprinkle if any left over stuffing. Switch off the flame and cover the pan and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. 
This stuffed chillies are ideal to have along with paratha, chappathi, theplas, or even with rice. 
Happy Cooking! 

A healthy, tasty and flavorful dish were both veggies compliment each other. However, you may add other vegetables like bell peppers, carrots or zucchini. 
Ingredients required:
• Broccoli florets 2 cups• Mushroom sliced 2 cups• Shallots 5 nos sliced• Garlic 5 cloves sliced• Ginger 1″ length chopped• Dark soy sauce 1 tsp• Apple Cider vinegar 1 tsp• Sugar 1/2 tsp• Black pepper crushed 1/2 tsp• Butter 1tbsp• Olive oil 1 tbsp• Salt to taste• Sesame seeds for garnish
Heat a pan over medium flame. Once the pan is heated, add butter and oil. When butter is melted, add in garlic, ginger and shallots. Saute for a while, till raw aroma fade away. 
Increase the flame to high. Add mushroom and broccoli and combine well. Add salt and give it a good toss and saute for about 3 minutes. Add pepper powder, sugar pour in soy sauce, vinegar and stir well. Reduce the flame to low, cover the pan and cook for about 7 minutes. Off the flame, stir well and garnish it with sesame seeds. 
Happy cooking! 

Amaranthus family consists of Varied specious and all are edible. In southern parts of India, it’s widely used and today creating shorba out of Siru keerai. “Siru’ means small in tamil. “Keerai’ means Greens. This variety of Amaranthus has smaller and pointed leaves compared to other varieties. 
Regard to it’s health benefits, Good source of proteins, including Amino acids, Dietary fiber and minerals. Rich in vitamin”A’. Abundance of flavonoids, Polyphenolic  antioxidants like Beta carotene, Zeaxanthin and Lutein. 
Ingredients required:
• Amaranthus* -Siru keerai 3 cups roughly chopped • Shallots 6 nos chopped• Tomato  2 medium sized cut in qtrs• Ginger an inch length chopped• Garlic 6 cloves• Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp• Black pepper whole 6 nos• Coriander seeds 1 tsp• Cloves 5 nos• Cinnamon an inch length• Mustard seeds 1 tsp• Dried Red chillies 2 nos cut in half• Asafoetida 1/4 tsp• Green chilly 5 nos• Rock salt• Sesame oil 2 tbsp• Ghee (Clarified butter) 1 tsp
* Pluck out the leaves and discard the stem. Check thoroughly for ang insects, worms or any other foreign particles on it. Soak the leaves in Turmeric powder and salt solution for about an hour. Rinse several times under running water. Allow to drain. 
In a stock pot add all above ingredients except mustard seeds, dry red chillies and sesame oil. 
Keep the stock pot over high flame. Pour sesame oil and mix well. Saute for about 5 minutes. Once Amaranthus start wilting, pour in 4 cups of water, cover the pot and let it cook for about 30 minutes. 
Once it’s cold, remove the bay leaves from it and using a hand blender blend it to a smooth consistency. Strain the mixture using a fine sieve. 
Put on the shorba over low flame, allow to summer. Temper it with mustard seeds,dry red chillies using ghee. 

Happy cooking!